My parents have a large basement, so most of my Pokémon card collection is stored there. Often, I order new items straight to their house. Now, whenever I return every few months, there’s plenty to look forward to—but also plenty to organize.
If I’m there for three or four days, I’ll spend a lot of hours cataloging, storing things away, cleaning up and creating space. Last time, I ended up working on it till 2 AM on a Saturday, struggling to finish everything before it was time to leave. Of course, the rest of my life also isn’t on hold. There were busy weeks at work ahead, a wedding to plan, and a cool event I wanted to put on with a friend for my readers. I visited my grandma and went to a high school reunion.
Even though I was extremely tired when I finally went to bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. I thought of all these different things I wanted to do and take care of. I stressed myself for another two hours or so before finally getting some rest. But somewhere in the midst of all this pointless thinking, one helpful image did come to mind: The reason I was stressing is that I thought of all my endeavors as separate projects weighing on me.
I felt as if I was dashing through a furniture warehouse, with large crates labeled “family,” “work,” “writing,” and so on falling off the shelves. Dodge this, dodge that, and then figure out a way through the maze. Kind of like running an obstacle course with higher stakes.
But actually, time is always passing. I don’t need to avoid any obstacle to keep moving forward. Even if I’m reluctant, time will do it for me. “Maybe there’s a different, better image,” I thought. As often, I went back to the river. What if we’re just floating forward in time? Projects, goals, obstacles, they, too are bobbing in the water—but even if we bump into them, that won’t stop us. Sometimes, there are more of them. More boxes swimming in our vicinity in the river. Sometimes, there are less, and we’ll glide ahead effortlessly. But no matter how we perceive them, in the end, time—and we—move along.
I don’t know if it was the thing that finally made me fall asleep, but it sure was comforting: Busy period or not, life goes on. I’ll get through it one way or another. Whether I feel I can manage everything well or not? That makes little difference. I’m always doing the best I can, so what else is there?
The more we mentally compartmentalize our lives, the easier it is to think we’re falling behind. Truthfully, you’re always exactly where you need to be. You just have to trust in your ability to float—and the universe’s kindness in figuring out the rest.
